Readers' Rides & Vintage Rods - Readers’ Rods

After sharing his first hot rod with us in Yesterday’s Young Guns in our Oct. ’09 issue, Bill Britsch thought we might like to see his brother Ludie’s first car from 1953 when he was 15 years old. That’s Ludie in the leather jacket and Bill leaning on the fender. Ludie got the ’35 Ford four-door convertible from the brothers’ cousin in Pasadena for $150 when he joined the Navy. Their father drove it home as Ludie had only just gotten his learner’s permit.

This was some car for a high school kid back then, with its white Carson top and a good-running Flathead with twin 97s and twice-pipes. Bill says, “My brother was quite popular in school. I remember time and time again having to get a ride home with someone else because the car was always full of girls at day’s end. He usually headed down to the beach to cruise the Strand and onto the popular drive-in downtown.”

Bill also included this picture of his latest ride, a steel ’32 roadster on a Total Cost Involved frame, 350/350/9-inch and American Racing five-spokes. As he puts it, “I’ve just entered the exclusive category of 70-plus-year-old hot rodders, and am having more fun now than ever.”

3/8Yesterday's Young Guns

Fred Perrenoud wasn’t exactly forthcoming with vast amounts of information about his latest project, completed after he built a ’50 Mercury, which won the Lowered Lid award at Goodguys Columbus, but he did mention it’s his daily driver. The chopped four-door ’31 Chevy sedan runs a 327 with three-twos, and uses the original frame. The rest you can see for yourself!

A truly family owned and built ’36 LaSalle two-passenger coupe, this was a seven-year frame-off project for Chuck Lashley built at home with help from his mom, dad, and three sons. The concept was to keep an appreciably stock, restored outward appearance, but incorporating updated running gear and suspension for improved comfort and driveability while significantly differing in style from traditional hot rods and especially from ultra-clean, high-tech street rods.

6/8Chuck Lashley<br/>
Via email<br/>
1936 LaSalle

Modifications include a Fatman Fabrications front frame stub with a manual rack, 500ci Cadillac, and Turbo 400 transmission. The rear is an 8.8 Ford out of a 5.0 Mustang converted to coilovers and custom triangulated four-link suspension.

The car’s body parts were hauled off to a rented paint booth where the two-tone gray pearl and tuxedo black were sprayed by father and son. It was then taken back home to be cut and buffed.